Persona: One World Re:
by Final-Freedom
Summary: An improved version of my old series, Persona One World. Hope everyone will enjoy this as much as they did the old series! OC
1. Chapter 1: Awaken The Moon

_**Disclaimer: Everything copyrighted that is made mention of in fic is not mine. It is owned by their own respective copyright owners.**_

_**Author's note: This is the re-written version of my old Persona: One World series. I really want to improve the story a little, so I re-wrote the whole thing. Thank you for tuning in again!**_

**Persona: One World**

**Chapter 1: Awaken the Moon**

**Shirayuki High, 28 April 2015;**

It was sundown, and the scenery from the rooftop is simply amazing. Shibuya Hiruma, a second year student, sat alone behind the gratings, watching the sun disappear over the horizon. _Kinda romantic..._He thought. With that he jumped to his feet, and picked up his bag. He ran a hand through his medium long dark hair, messing it up even further. His dark eyes reflected the crimson skies and he made his way out of the school.

He ran a bit on his way down, causing him to run into another student. The guy wore the same school uniform as him, though radically altered to his brutal taste. _What's with the black cross on his red shirt? _Shibuya thought. He also noticed the guy wore denim pants instead of normal slacks.

"Sorry." Shibuya muttered and walked in the opposite direction, not attending the glare from the white haired guy.

The guy watched as Shibuya walked off, his blue eyes glowing curiously.

Shibuya walked at his own pace to his part-time job. He had set his mind to get that new model phone when he gets his pay today, and he can hardly hold back his excitement. The phone model is a quite popular nowadays, as seen in the adverts, which featured the idol/singer Rise Kujikawa.

The streets of the the New Harajuku shopping district was as busy as ever, with people bustling around with their own businesses. The old district was long dead, completely forgotten due to the rise of the new district.

Shibuya arrived at his workplace and started work. Not realizing the pair of eyes watching him from afar.

* * *

**New Harajuku Shopping District, 28 April 2015; **

"This is awesome!" Shibuya cheered, holding his new phone proudly. "Hahaha, I can't wait to show this off!"

"Show what off, Hiruma-kun?" a guy walked towards Shibuya, beside him a girl.

"Souma... You skipped out on work again, you bastard!" Shibuya shouted at him, laughing.

"Sorry dude, 'duty' calls." the guy laughs.

"That doesn't excuse you for missing school today either."

"Haha!" the guy named Souma laughed. As irritating as he is, Souma is one of Shibuya's friends,, and Shibuya is one of the only people that could put up with him.

"Laugh all you want, I'm not helping you for our tests next week!" Shibuya threatened. It was followed with laughter.

"That's fine by me." Souma laughed back at him. " Hey, by the way. I had a few this to do with my girlfriend tonight, so could you run by my house and tell my mom that I won't be home?"

"Can't you just call her?"

"I don't want her to start interrogating me over the phone... Alrite?"

"Oh, okay..." Shibuya was sure that he won't be doing it.

"Great," Souma smiled, and put an arm around the girl that came with him. "See ya'round then!"

The pair left Shibuya at the sidewalk and began to walk away. Shibuya could not help but smirk at the thought of where the pair was going.

Shrugging, Shibuya started making his way home, his new phone still held proudly in his hands.

* * *

**?????, ?????;**

"Is he the one?" A voice was heard in a dark, eerily adorned room. The floor, walls and even the ceiling were covered in velvet and there was but a single chair in the room as well as a small coffee table.

"He is." said another voice, this one sounding older and wiser than the last one. It seemed to belong to the shorter, though older, man sitting on the chair, while the other voice was from the blue haired young man standing behind him.

"He doesn't hold the Wild Card." The blue haired young man commented.

"But he hold a power much greater, I sense." The short man said, in the darkness his eerie grin could be made out.

* * *

**Old Harajuku Shopping District, 28 April 2015;**

"Damn it, why does this place have to look so dead!" Shibuya said as he stalked the dark roads alone. The road was a short-cut to his house, which used to be part of the bustling shopping district until the new buildings took over forcing the old shops to close.

The road is lit by only a few functional streetlamps, which do nothing but add to the fear factor of the road. Once in a while a stray cat or dog would make some noise.

Shibuya would sometimes look over his shoulder in a paranoid fashion, as though someone would be following him. This had long since become a habit though. He kept sighing every time it happened.

"Damn it, its almost midnight..." He groaned. Looking at his phone for the time.

The moment the clock struck midnight, Shibuya felt the atmosphere suddenly becoming heavy and oppressive. Shibuya suddenly had a case of cold sweat, and his stride began to slow.

Slowly, Shibuya managed to reach the row of shop lots he was supposed to cross via one of the shops. Tonight especially, the shop looked scariest.

"Well, here goes..." Shibuya pushed the door carefully. Even though had done this a few times before, he couldn't help but to feel nervous this time. Must be the sudden change in temperature.

The moment he stepped inside, the door slammed shut behind him with a loud THUD. The sound echoed in the empty building.

Shibuya silenced for a second, before panic begins to take effect.

"Hey!! What the hell!" He ran to the door and tugged on it a few times, but the door refused to budge. He did feel something kinda wet on the door handle...

"This is... blood?!!" Shibuya's brain froze. Even so he started picturing a hundred and one possible things that could explain what happened here. Not one of them is logic.

Suddenly there was a flurry of scuttling sounds, followed by a roar. Shibuya's panic heightened and he began to frantically search for a way out. The doors are locked and the windows are boarded shut, Shibuya could only think of one way out.

Scrambling towards the flight of stairs, he tripped and slipped on the blood on the floor. The mysterious blood seemed to be everywhere, and there were tons of them.

Shibuya ran. He went up more stairs than he though to have been possibly present in the shop, but the roar and impending sounds drives him to keep on running.

He wanted to stop for a while, to catch his breath when a sudden impulse saved him from being flattened by a fist that punched itself through wall, missing him by a hair's breadth.

"What the HECK!!!" Shibuya shouted at the top of his lungs, and continued running. He looked back and saw a giant masked face looking at him through the hole in the wall made by the punch. "DAMN IT!! THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!!!"

* * *

**Harajuku Old Shopping District, 29 April 2015;**

A gray haired young man looked at the building which Shibuya entered from the outside. It was now shrouded by a thick dark cloud, though it was invisible to other humans. The man was talking on the phone with the blue haired young man from the Velvet Room.

"Should I go and help him?"

_"Igor told you to just observe."_

"I understand. Tch.."

_"If things get too out of control then.."_

"I'll finish it off then." There was a flash of white, and the gray haired young man disappeared.

* * *

**Twisted Shop, 29 April 2015??;**

Shibuya managed to reach the rooftop of the building even without thinking what he was going to do when he gets there. He looked around and saw that the dark cloud had completely engulfed the building. He couldn't see even the adjacent buildings.

"Damn it... What to do now..."

A roar, louder than before rang throughout the darkness. Shibuya's head whipped in the direction of the roar and felt his blood freeze in his veins.

It was the gigantic masked face from before, and behind it the gigantic fist. They were two disjointed beings, both held up by a black mass of unknown nature.

The masked being opened its 'mouth' revealing rows and rows of sharp fangs. It gave another loud roar, echoing in the almost solid darkness.

"No..... FREAKING WAY!!!" Shibuya ran back towards the door into the shop, but the fist monster was faster. It floated on the black mass and overtook Shibuya, landing a devastating punch on his stomach. Shibuya was sent flying across the rooftop.

"Ugh..." Shibuya groaned in pain. His lips was bleeding and his nose was broken, and he even coughed out blood. But when he looked up, he saw the masked monster in his face, grinning evilly. "Ah!"

Before Shibuya could say a word, the masked being breathed out a ball of fire. The fireball exploded when in contact with Shibuya, causing an impressive wall of fire.

"WUAHHHH!!!!" Shibuya screamed as the flames burned him viciously. He fell forward again, his body can't take so much pain.

The fist monster picked up the limp Shibuya, putting it face to face to the masked monster again.

_I am thou....._

The masked monster grinned, and the fist monster slammed Shibuya onto the concrete floor. Shibuya groaned in pain again, he could feel his shoulder blades breaking.

"Ah...." Shibuya was bare conscious. He could feel the pain though, as the fist monster smashed him with his fist.

_And thou art I....._

"Per...."

The masked monster let loose a fire attack again, and once more Shibuya screamed in pain. He could feel his new phone slipping out of his school blazer pocket.

"Per...so..na...." Shibuya gasped. At that instant, his hand brushed against his phone, which screen suddenly erupted with a blast of blue light. The light was intense enough to drive back the two monsters, and engulfed Shibuya's body whole.

Shibuya felt his body rejuvenated, his body healed of the wounds he received earlier. He could also see that from the light a form was materializing. It was a samurai like being, wearing a _hakama_ like the olden days warriors. It wore a helm of metal, adorned with a crescent moon crest. In its hand held a katana, which reflected in the light.

"Tsukuyomi."

Shibuya stood again, the samurai Persona floating above the floor behind him. He bent down to pick up his phone again, and noticed that the main display had changed to show the Moon Arcana from the Tarot Card set.

The monster roared again, and the fist monster launched itself towards Shibuya again. This time, the Persona Tsukuyomi parried the fist with its katana, protecting Shibuya from harm.

"Get 'im." Shibuya commanded. Tsukuyomi pushed his blade, overpowering the fist monster, and cutting it cleanly in half. The monster disappeared in a wisp of black smoke.

In what seemed to be anguish at the loss of its friend, the masked monster roared again. It began collecting energy for its flame attack. From the looks of it, it was prepared to give an all-out attack.

"Tsukuyomi." Shibuya's eyes glowed blue to match the light from which Tsukuyomi appeared, and the light itself gathered around him, forming a vortex of energy. The samurai Persona sheathed its sword and held it in and _iai _(sword-draw) position.

Bellowing again, the masked monster let loose a massive ball of fire.

"Gekkou-" Tsukuyomi drew his sword swiftly, whose arc was followed by a beam of pure light which cut through the ball of flames and through the masked monster itself. "-Iai."

The monster let out a weak cry as it too disappeared just as it's companion did, together with the dark cloud which engulfed the building. Shibuya looked up to see the moon shining brightly in the clear night sky.

"What the hell is going on here..." Shibuya said, before his words was cut by a soft musical tone. He instinctively went to a fighter's stance, before realizing stupidly that it was just his phone text message tone.

Slapping his own forehead for his idiocy, he picked up the phone and opened the new message:

"_Shibuya Hiruma, thou had awakened the strength within thee. The Moon Deity, Tsukuyomi shalt guid thee in thy path through the Nighmare Zone. May thy strength help thee survive thou quest through the unseen future..._. "

The message was from a person named Philemon, though from what Shibuya had experienced tonight, he wouldn't be surprised if this Philemon guy wasn't human at all...

"Ugh..." Shibuya felt his knees give way underneath him, before his consciousness fail him as well.... The last thing he saw before he blacked out was the a gray haired man walking slowly towards him....

* * *

**To be continued......**


	2. Chapter 2: The Velvet Room Guest

_**Disclaimer: Everything copyrighted that is made mention of in fic is not mine. It is owned by their own respective copyright owners.**_

**Persona: One World**

**Chapter 2: The Velvet Room Guest**

**Harajuku General Hospital, 5 May 2015;**

"Ughh..... What in the world...." Shibuya was groggy from waking up from his sleep. How long did he sleep anyway? He can't move....

"Hey, you're up!" Shibuya could make up his younger sister's voice. But his eyes were too blurry to see her.

"What time is it?" He asked. He tried to get up but his sister held him down. "Hey, Yumi... What gives?"

"You've had an accident. A hit-and-run it seems... You're pretty badly hurt when that guy sent you here!" Shibuya's eyes finally adjusted, and saw the worried look on his sister's face. Her face seemed a lot more mature than girls her age usually are.

Yumi Hiruma was Shibuya's only recognized relative. Their parents are working abroad, leaving Yumi and Shibuya to fend for themselves. They do send them large amount of spending money per month, but Shibuya doesn't want any of it. The two lived alone at their apartment together with their younger brother.

Yumi is only 15, though looking at her people would easily mistake her for a woman in her early 20-ies. She has shoulder length dark hair and fair skin like Shibuya, though her eyes are lighter shade of brown.

She was wearing her usual middle school _fuku, _so Shibuya assumed that it is some time after school. She brought him some packed lunch, which Shibuya downed hungrily.

Even through her smile, Shibuya could that his younger sibling is feeling very worried. He put up a brave smile for her and said with a bravado , "Don't worry about me, Yumi! I'm invincible!"

Yumi smiled a little at his brother's childish antics. "But its still dangerous... A hit-and-run in the middle of the night..."

"A hit-and-..." Shibuya grabbed his head suddenly. A sharp piercing pain struck his entire body. Images of large monsters, one wearing a large scary mask, flashed before him.

"Shibuya-niisan? Shibuya-niisan?! Doctor!!!!!"

* * *

**East Shrewsbury High, 5 May 2015;**

"Sleeping in class are we, Miss Belle?"

"Huh?" A sleepy seventeen year old Melissa Belle pulled her head up to see her whole class staring and laughing at her. The Calculus teacher, Mr. Rick was standing directly in front of her, arms crossed with an angry look on his face.

"Detention, Miss Belle... and wipe that drool off your face." She knew the teacher said that just to add insult to injury as the entire classed roared with laughter again while she stupidly wiped her mouth in a daze.

* * *

"Heh........" Melissa could do nothing but sigh while waiting in her detention class. It wasn't her fault she's tired, and she had to bear all that weird dream about a samurai and monsters again which made her nap not really that much more enjoyable.

"Hey, heading to Newspapers after detention, Mel?" Matt, one of her classmates and club mates (and now detention mates...though she really won't admit that.)jabbed her from behind.

"Yeah, I guess so..."

"Great, let's go together!"

"Ermm.... Actually, I have to run off somewhere first after this..." This was a completely impromtu lie, and though she felt very bad doing so, anything is better than being stuck with Matt.

* * *

"Oh, that's okay then..." Melissa could not shake the sad look in his eyes as he turned away.

Melissa looked at her own reflection in the mirror in the girl's bathroom, washing her face with water. She looked at herself, plain looking face with long brown hair which she preferred to keep in a low ponytail and her naturally blue eyes.

She sighed a few more times, shaking the sadness on Matt's blonde haired face out of her memory. She then stepped out of the bathroom to attend the Newspaper Club meeting.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late!" Melissa said upon entering the already underway meeting. A few other members looked at her before turning back onto the agenda. Matt motioned for her to sit near to him, but she declined to sit nearer to another girl.

"Well, Mel. Lucky of us to have you join us!" Head Editor Colin Luther greeted her briefly, which Melissa returned a smile to.

"Back to the issue at hand, the impending doom of our beloved club..."

"What?!" Melissa raised her voice, maybe a bit too much. Colin looked at her sadly.

"It is true... Unless we could have at least two issues published and sold by the end of this month, we could as well as say good-bye to our little publication..."

"The main problem is, we don't have the material or the manpower to gather as much material needed for issues that would appeal to the readers...."

"Hold that thought!" Melissa's voice was heard again. Once again, all heads turned to her.

"Why not, we make a story of the disappearance cases around Shropshire? The random ones that had been happening the past 2 months?"

There was a number of gasps following her suggestion. Colin nodded and rubbed his chin.

"That's a good idea, but don't you think this case is kinda.... dangerous?" Colin pointed. "The case also seemed quite vague as there had been no concrete leads so far..."

"That's why I think it would sell big-time!" Melissa is getting pumped. "If we can get a cover on this story we could surely sell the two issues we need and more!"

There was a murmur of excitement following this, and even the Chief Editor seemed interested.

"Okay then, I'll put you in charge of this case, Mel."

"Leave it to me!" Melissa said happily, standing up to express her excitement.

* * *

**Harajuku General Hospital, 6 May 2015;**

"Shibuya-niisan..." Yumi's voice was the first thing Shibuya heard when he regained consciousness after fainting yesterday.

"What happened this time?"

"Here, drink this.." Yumi offered her brother a glass of water. "You fainted after you regained consciousness earlier today... You looked like you were in so much pain... Are you okay?"

"I'm...." His was cut off when another figure entered the hospital room. If Shibuya could trust his memory right now, he'd seen this gray-haired man somewhere before....

"Can you leave us, young lady? I need to have a word with your brother."

"But..."

"It's okay, Yumi. Leave us." Shibuya assured. Yumi reluctantly left the room and closed the door behind her.

Shibuya is now alone with the gray haired man now. He was wearing shades and his hair was in bangs over his forehead so Shibuya couldn't get a clear view of how he looked like, but through all that Shbuya could feel there was something different about this guy.

"So, how was it?" the man asked.

"How was what?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"I don't." Flashes of the monster and the samurai went through Shibuya's brain again as his hand reached up to hold his head which had started aching again.

"You do remember." The man grabbed hold of Shibuya's arm. At the same time Shibuya felt his head splitting, the vision coming more rapidly through his head that everything was a blur.

"Arhgg.... What is this...." Shibuya said, biting back the pain. He looked into the man's face but his own eyes failed him as everything went black for the second time today.

* * *

**Belle Residence, 9 May 2015;**

"Hmmmm.... This ain't good at all..." Melissa sighed. She had in front of her her laptop, notebook and a few photos, but no article had yet to pop out of her head.

She had spent her entire Saturday poking around town inquiring about the disappearance cases. Though she managed to get some information it is still not enough for a full story.

"Why can't people be a little bit more helpful...." she gave up fell back into her bed, her mind still yet on the topic.

At that moment her phone rang, it was Matt. Melissa groaned and rejected the call.

Her eyes shifted to her laptop again. She had a few websites on that was following the cases, but they were nothing more than just speculations and the usual bullcrap.... Irritated, she shut off her laptop and muffled a frustrated scream in her pillow.

* * *

**???????, ??????;**

"_Huh? Where is this?" _Melissa thought to herself. A second ago she remembered falling asleep on her warm comfy bed.... But now it seems as if she's on a cruise ship or something. _"I gotta be dreaming here... Dammit, I have to wake up now...."_

To her surprise, she couldn't wake up as she wished. Shrugging she walked around the mist covered ship, having to grope her way around until she found a doorknob. Turning it, she found herself in a room lavishly draped with blue velvet, though the only furniture was a chair and a coffee table.

"Who is it that who trespassed this realm?" an old man's voice from beyond the room caused Melissa to jump in surprise. From the shadows of the room a short, bald, long nosed old man appeared, behind him a younger man with blue hair.

"What is it that you seek in the Velvet Room my dear?" the old man asked again.

"Err..." Much to her own surprise, she can talk here. "I'm sorry.... I didn't mean to trespass or anything...."

"It's okay dear... The Room is not visited by just no-one..." the old man said. "Oh, and how rude of me to not introduce myself... My name is Igor and this is one of my older guests... Mister Arisato Minato..."

The blue haired young man nodded in acknowledgment but didn't say anything.

"Err... I'm... Mellissa Belle..."

"That's good... So now miss Belle... What brings you here? It is rather curious that you made your way here without an invitation or contract..." Igor waved his hand, and a chair appeared behind Melissa. Though reluctant at first, she took a seat.

"Err... This is a dream right?" She asked timidly.

"This is a world between reality and fantasy. Between the wake and the sleep. This is the Velvet Room. We are the denizens, and you are the guest."

"Okay...."

"You have yet to awaken my child, unlike the other guest recently..." Igor said, sounding quite unhappy. He looked at Minato, and with a snap of Minato's fingers, Melissa began feeling drowsy again.

"May we meet again, my sweet child."

* * *

**East Shrewsbury High, 8 May 2015;**

Mellissa turned up at school drowsy. Her sleep last night was uncomfortable as much as she could remember. She let off a loud yawn.. Not realizing a persistent pair of eyes following her every move

Not surprisingly, she fell asleep in class yet again and landed herself in detention. Again.

That night, Melissa was wide awake and ready to hit the streets. She had received a message from an anonymous source that she could get some information about the cases from the abandoned chapel in town tonight.

Suspicious and dangerous as it is, Melissa couldn't help but be curious about this mystery informer. Armed with a camera, night vision video recorder, notebook and pepper spray, she set off towards the unknown.

The church was a 45 minute walk from her house. And the empty town road made her quite nervous at first, but later she enjoyed every step of the midnight walk. The cool moonlight and the breeze feels so refreshing to her.

Looking up to the abbey now, she began to think of how stupid it seem to trust information from an unknown source. "It's too late to turn back now..." with that she pushed open the door to the empty chapel.

It seemed that there was nothing interesting about the chapel tonight. Just that the moonlight from through the stained glass makes the place looked extra creepy.

"You came, Melissa." a familiar voice was heard from the other end of the small chapel.

"Matt?! Dammit, is this your idea of a joke?!"

"C'mon Mel, you take things far too seriously." Matt stepped into the moonlight. He looked apologetic and kinda disappointed at the same time.

"Ugh, I have better things to do than play your childish games, Matt!" Melissa turned to open the door, but found that it is locked. "Ugh... Very mature, Matt!"

However, she also noticed something else about the door's handle. It was and slippery with what seemed to be... "Blood?"

"What is the meaning of this Matt? Stop it okay!" She shouted to the guy, who seemed clueless about what going on.

"Mel," Matt's voice sounds distant. "I love you..."

"Stop it, okay! LET ME OUT OF HERE!!" Melissa screamed at the top of her voice.

A deathly silence followed her scream, before a clanking sound, paired with a grinding sound was heard echoing in the dark chapel.

"Matt! Stop it, okay! No more of this! I admit I'm really scared now!" she pleaded, but he seemed as alarmed as she is as the clanking sound grew nearer.

"MATT!!"

"I'm not doing it, okay!" He shouted back, the tension in his voice and the sweat on his brow proves he's not lying.

The clanking sound grew to a stop as the true origin of the sound was seen. It was a headless suit of armor, dragging along an iron sword.

"What... the hell?!"Matt shouted. The blonde pushed Melissa behind him. The suit of armor took a step towards them, and Melissa screamed again.

"Mel," Matt said. "You run away first."

"What?" Melissa grabbed onto him. "I'm not leaving you to face that madman alone!"

"I'm not sure if it's a man at all...."

"But..."

"Run, NOW!"he pushed Melissa away, and ran head first towards the monster.

"Matt!!"

Matt and the monster grappled with each other for a moment, before a while Matt, who had been the school's football player, managed to overpower the monster for a second, and threw it onto a row of benches.

To both Melissa's and Matt's surprise, the suit of armor dismantled after it was thrown to the ground. There was apparently nothing inside.

"What is this... AH!!!" Matt shouted as the suit of armor recombined upon him, encasing his body within. The monster's sword lifted itself in to the air in front of Matt.

"Matt...." Melissa looked in horror, as the sword plunged itself through the armor, through Matt's chest. There was a look of surprise in his eyes as he looked sadly at Melissa, just for a second before his the life in his eyes disappeared. An evil laughter was heard all around was Matt's limp body was released from the armor.

"MATTTT!!!!!!!!" Melissa screamed. "MATTTT!!!!!!!"

* * *

_**To be continued....**_


	3. Chapter 3: Phenomena

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Shin Megami Tensei Persona series, as well as any other copyrighted materials in this story. All credits go to their original owners.**

**Persona: One World**

**Chapter 3: Phenomena**

**East Shrewsbury Nightmare Chapel, 8 May 2015;**

Melissa stood there petrified as Matt's body lay dead on the chapel's floor, his fresh blood mixing with the bloodstains that had mysteriously appeared.

The evil suit of armor laughed again. A mask appeared where its place is supposed to be, grinning its evil smile.

"Matt...." Melissa fell to the floor, the fear and shock came in as too much of a burden for her. That, and also the fact that she may die soon enough, she had no more strength to stand.

As if accepting her resolve to die, the armored monster stalked towards the girl, armor clanking menacingly. It raised its sword up, ready to bring it down upon the defenseless Melissa.

"PERSONA!"

A sudden shout from out of nowhere caused Melissa to look up, only to be momentarily blinded by a flash of blue light. Metal clashed against metal, and the armored monster was sent flying across the chapel.

"_Daijobu desu ka? (Are you okay?)" _A guy rushed to Melissa's side, addressing her in what sounded like Chinese or Japanese. He was a good looking guy, at least as far as Melissa knew.

"I don't speak Chinese....."

"I speak Japanese."

_Wow, for a Japanese his English is not bad.... _Melissa thought with a smile. She then noticed the samurai facing the armored monster. Katana met sword a couple of time, causing sparks to fly.

"Can you stand up, miss?" The boy offered his left hand to her, as his right hand is occupied by his phone.

"Melissa... Melissa Belle..." She said, not taking the guy's hand. She stared at the floor blankly, when a loud explosion was heard.

The armored monster sent a bench flying towards Shibuya and the brown haired English girl. Out of instinct he pinned her down to the ground as the bench sailed over them.

"Tsukuyomi, GETSU-EI!" upon command, the Samurai Persona slashed in front of himself the arc forming a shockwave of energy which exploded upon impact with the armored monster. "Yes!"

"Errr..." Shibuya just realized that he was lying on top of the the whole time. Quickly he jumped to his feet, his face red. "Ahh.... So-Sorry....!" The girl was blushing too, but said nothing.

Suddenly, Shibuya bent over groaning in pain. At that same moment the Samurai Persona was struck in the stomach as the armored monster rushed from the explosion earlier

Alarmed, Melissa ran over to his side. "Hey, are you okay?"She helped him up, and saw blood on his lips.

"I'm okay... Just now when I didn't focus really cost me..." he got up but staggered a bit. "When that Shadow hurt my Persona, I get hurt too..."

"Shadow? Persona? What are you talking about?" Melissa found her voice again at last. "While those two are at it we should get out of here!"she tried to carry him out but he resisted.

"We cannot escape the Nightmare Zone while that Shadow is still here." Shibuya said, his eyes not moving away from the armored monster. "A Shadow is those kinda things that hurt people, and my Persona is the one fighting it!"

"Your Persona? You mean to say that you own that samurai guy there or something?"

"He is me. And I'm him."

"What?"

"It's really... complicated..... Tsukuyomi, Tsukikage-Iai!" the Samurai Persona swung its sword, releasing another blinding flash, this time in form of a beam of light. The blast knocked the Shadow into a wall, but the armor just won't give in.

"What are you waiting for? Summon your Persona as well!"

Bewildered, the girl shouted back. "What do you think I am, some kind of superhero? I can't summon a Persona -whatever that thing is!"

"Ugh!" the samurai Persona took another hit, seriously hurting Shibuya. His eyes began to blur. He wobbled a bit and the light from the Samurai persona dimmed.

"Hey! Hang in there!" Melissa took another look at Matt and fought back a tear. She looked back at the Japanese boy, who's also getting hurt because of her. "Damn it!"

_I am thou...._

Standing up, Melissa spread her arms between the Japanese boy and the armored Shadow. "You won't harm anyone anymore!"

_And thou art I...._

"_Baka!_ Move aside, Melissa!" the Japanese boy shouted, but Melissa wasn't listening. Her eyes fixed on the Shadow as the Shadow's was on her. The armored Shadow gave a low chuckle and raised its weapon.

"PERSONA!"

There was a flurry of movements, Shibuya reaching for his phone, the Shadow lunging forward towards Melissa and Melissa whipping out her own phone as everything was covered in a violet light.

"Get 'im! Gefjun!" Melissa's phone projected a card, its face a male and female human under a heart branched tree, which shattered and from within it a woman in a lovely white gown appeared. Her face was obscured by a mask, heart shaped and she had an ornate orb levitating between her palms.

Shibuya watched in awe, as the other Persona stood against the Shadow. Gefjun's aura of lightning raged all over the cathederal.

"Let's go, Gefjun!" The female magician Persona struck up the offensive, sending a bolt of lightning at the Shadow. The Shadow raised its sword which as knocked aside by the electric attack. Roaring, the Shadow rushed forward, the helmet part of the armor opening up to reveal a fang-lined mass of darkness.

"AH!" Melissa shouted, which Gefjun responded with a bigger ball of lightning which shot forward. The ball of lightning struck the darkness mass of the Shadow head on, producing a spectacle of fireworks before the armor itself disintegrated and the darkness fade into the night with an eerie wail.

"That's for Matt!" Melissa shouted at what's left of the monster, tears in her eyes overflowing down to her cheeks. She looked over to the body was and gasped....

There was nothing there....

"Hey, what did you....?" Melissa turned to Shibuya, but suddenly her body lost strength and the last thing she heard was the Japanese boy shouting out her name before she passed out.....

**Beijing National University, China, 9 May 2015;**

"Damn it, I'm not supposed to be day-dreaming here..." Wang Soi Feng shook the crazy images formed in his head as he's taking notes from the lecturer. Shaking his head physically, he squinted towards the projection again, copying important points into his notes.

Not far from him, Ai Si Ying, a beautiful Korean-Chinese mix, also shook her head as she awoke from a daydream of knights and samurais.

"Soi Feng" a voice called Wang over after the class. The student fixed his glasses and turned to see his lecturer, Dr. Lam Ka-Kyen was beckoning him. Straightening his shirt, he walk agaisnt the stream of student to the lecturer's table infront.

"Yes, Doctor?" He asked. And the lecturer handed him a sheet of paper. It was a form for him to join the professor's research as an assistant. "You serious?" Wang was so jubilant that he could have hugged the lecturer.

"You're a brilliant student," the older bespectacled professor said to him smiling. "Though I would appreciate it if you would stop sleeping in my classes."

Scratching the back of his head, Wang gave his lecturer a goofy smile.

It was midnight, and the University park is mostly empty. Empty except for the sounds of a single person training alone. It was a scrawny bespectacled guy, his short dark hair wet with his sweat. His body was quite muscular, thanks to his nightly training. Wang Soi Feng wiped his sweaty brow with a towel.

Wang Soi Feng had long been a smart kid. For his entire life he had been pushed to excel in his studies, never given any room to do what he wants. The truth is, he really wants to be an athlete. Running is his passion, and only now had he have the chance to live it...

He trained like this every other night, while the rest of the nights would be spent on his university work. Its a hard life, and he knows it...

"Enjoying yourself?"

Wang was so surprised by the unexpected greeting that he tripped over a park bench and fell over. He could hear the female voice giggling as he got back to his feet. He looked up to see who was it that got the jump on him.

"Ai Si Ying?" Wang said, a little louder than necessary. The short haired girl stood next to him, wearing a light blue training attire. Wang had to physically avert his eyes from staring at her beautiful body. "What... are you doing at th-this time of the day?"

" Same as you... Tonight is very cool and comfortable for a jog." She said with a smile.

"I see...."

"So, where are you going next?" she asked.

"Err... I don't know.." He walked away, not wanting to waste so much time. She followed him close behind.

"Errr... Why are you following me?"

"Nothing..."

"Suit yourself then...."

"Hey, what's that?" She pulled on his sleeve and pointed at the Engineering Faculty building nearby. Wang didn't realize it earlier, but there was some sort of red light from inside the building.

"Hey, let's check it out..." She pulled harder on his sleeve.

Wang peeked climbed over the locked building's fence with ease, followed by Ai. When the reached the front doors of the buillding, they looked at each other and nodded. He turned the handle of the door, which was surprisingly unlocked.

"Could it be, that some students are having a party here?" Wang suggested, looking around warily in the process.

"No way, it's wayyy to quiet... This is....?" Ai ran her finger across the wall, over a distinctive red liquid . "B- Blood?"

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" A female scream was heard somewhere from above. Instinctively Wang looked at the stairs and ran up it.

"Wang! Wait for me! Waittt!" Ai shouted while he ran off on his own. He didn't seem to have heard her and ran left her alone. It was then that Ai noticed the scraping sounds coming from down the hallway.

"Who's there.... Who...? AHHH!"

**Nightmare University, Second Floor, ?;**

Wang ran, following the sound of the screams. It was not until a while that he realized that he had left Ai behind. "Ah.... Damn...." Contemplating for a while, he turned back, not before a mass of darkness blocked the way which he came. "What in the world...?"

He stared into the dark mass. He felt a slow tingling in his chest when he realized that something in the darkness was looking back at him... He scrutinized on it, trying to make out what was it that's staring at him.... When all of a sudden a face jumped, baring its fangs at him.

"Raijin!" Someone shouted, and a large projection of a card, its face a kings holding a mace and a scripture, appreared in front of Wang before the card shattered into a million pieces in a golden light. Within the golden light then emerged a long bearded old man, covered in a white cloth . He also carried a double bladed lance.

With one swing of the golden lance, heavy winds and lightning blasted around Wang, destroying the being that came from the darkness.

"Stay vigilant, Soi Feng."

"Professor Lam?"

"Watch out!" The professor pushed the younger university student aside as more of the dark monsters hurled themselves at the humans. "Raijin!" the white clothed god-warrior swung his lance again, destroying the monsters in a gale force of lightning and wind.

"What in the world was that?" The younger man shouted. He looked at the lightning-god Persona. "And what the hell is THIS?"

"Calm down, I'll explain everything later."

"Professor?" Ai's voice was heard behind Wang. He turned around, looking relieved. "Are you okay, Ai?" he asked. She nodded, he sighed in relief.

"What's going on here, Professor?" She asked. He was about to say something, but stiffened. "Later, we've got company."

Wang and Ai both looked back, and saw a larger mass of darkness approaching. This time there's more masks and also some hands that seems to carry weapons on them.

"Raijin" The elder god Persona took a stance in front of the professor. "You two run away, there's no guarantee I can win this one... Now, RUN!"

"Professor..." Ai wanted to protest, but Wang was already pulling her away. "Wang, the professor... we can't just leave him like that!" she pulled back, but Wang kept a firm grip on him.

"We have to trust him!" Wang shouted at her. She seemed stunned by his sudden outburst. "We have to.. and we have get out of here..."

She didn't resist anymore but instead ran alongside him. They ran until they reached the main hall, which would lead to the exit, where they stopped running. Standing in their path is a 5-foot tall monstrosity, having four arms and a wearing a mask not unlike the ones worn by the dark masses.

Before either of them could even say anything, the monster grabbed Wang by the waist and lifted him up into the air.

"Wang, no!" Ai shouted as the monster's large hands began to crush Wang. "NOO!"

_I am thou...._

Wang screamed in pain as the monster slowly crush his body like a tin can. "Ai.... run...."

"NOO!"

_And thou art I...._

"PERSONA!" Ai screamed out. A deep blue light erupted in front of her in the form of a large card with a depiction of a lion fighting a woman on it. The Strength Arcana card shined for a while before shattering, from within it a woman appeared wearing a traditional Korean sea-blue and blue hanbok which beside her was two swords made of water. "Areong Jong!"

Both Wang and the monster was shocked by the sudden appearance of the Persona, which Wang used to his advantage when the monster's grip loosened he slid from its fingers and onto the hard floor.

Seeing his prey had escaped, the furious monster gave out a bone-chilling cry and started to charge towards the fallen Wang. Before it could even came close, a jet of water formed a wall between it and Wang. The impact of the highly pressurized water knocked the monster back, sending it crashing into a wall.

"Wang, are you alright?" Ai helped him up, but it seemed that some of his bones are utterly broken and he is unable to stand. Every time he tried, he winced in pain and fell back to the floor. "Damn..."

The monster also seemed to have gotten back onto its feet and is roaring at the Persona Areong Jong,

"You stay here, Wang." She looked at him straight in the eyes. "I... I'll protect you."


End file.
